Help me setup a Audio system for the house

[dragonfly009]

Hello beautiful people,

We are in midst of building a new home and looking to setup a audio system across the house.

The house is a double storey. I was thinking of getting speakers installed in all common areas on ground and first floor.

Ground floor has a theatre room, a living, dining and kitchen all connected and a open layout and a covered pergola
First floor has a study, rumpus
I am thinking of below configuration and install in-ceiling speakers

Ground floor - ceiling height is 3m

1. Theatre - 2 speakers (or 4 may be) - room size of 5.5m*4.3m
2. Living - 2 speakers, room size 5.5m*6.5m
3. Dining - 2 Speakers, room size 6m*3.2m
4. Pergola - 2 Speakers, room size 3m*5m

First Floor ceiling height is 2.7m

1. Rumpus - 2 speakers (or 4 may be), room size 5m*5m

In-ceiling speakers that I have shortlisted is the RSL C34E, purely based on reviews I have read online. No prior experience of speakers, home theatres etc. My best audio system has been the Sonos in below config.

Few things to consider

1. I intend to setup a home theatre at a later stage, but need to make provisions for cabling
2. I currently use Sonos Arc, Sub and 2 Sonos One all connected to the TV

What I need

1. Ability to play wireless from a phone, ipad or plug in
2. Be able to control which room I can play the music
3. Be able to group volume across multiple rooms
4. Ability to play different tracks in each room
5. Considering I will eventually buy a home theatre system - is there an amp or controller that can work either ways?
6. Audio quality is critical and I love bass in my speakers
7. Do not have a unlimited budget

What are your configurations, products and recommendations from this knowledgeable people.

Thank you

 

[Eppie]

Given the needs you listed, I would recommend hiring a design consultant who specializes in whole home audio. This is above what the average user deals with. If you are currently happy with the Sonos products, a Sonos ecosystem may meet your needs, but that would require Sonos units in each room/zone. That gives you some portability compared to in-ceiling / in-wall speakers. I don't have any personal experience with Sonos.

As to the home theatre, I would treat that system separately. You want a dedicated multi-channel receiver and speaker setup for proper home theatre. You might be able to tie in a wireless streamer to the receiver to connect to the rest of the house system, or install a couple of extra speakers if you want occasional ambient music in the theatre room that is connected to the house system. If you prewire the theatre, use conduit to run the cables inside to allow for expansion or changes later. Think about how many channels you will need and whether you will want ceiling speakers for ATMOS or Auro3D.

I use the Roon software in my home and it can do a lot of what you want. I have the Roon core on a PC that holds my music collection. You connect Roon end points (wirelessly or wired through your home network) to stream your music to. Roon also supports streaming services like Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, etc. Through my phone and PC (or any other laptop or tablet that can install the Roon client software) I can control each end point (the core can play music as well). I can link end-points together and have them play the same music, and also have end-points play different music. There is independent volume control for each end-point.

The caveat is that each end-point is its own sound system. Endpoints can be different things. They can be complex and flexible like a laptop or Raspberry Pi minicomputer connected to an amplifier, or simple like one of many Roon ready network players like Bluesound powered streamers. The Roon software has an annual subscription or a life-time license.

If you go with a consultant, they can provide whole home audio systems where everything is integrated with touch screen panels in the home and additional control via cell phone apps. This would typically have a central location for your amplifiers and streamers as opposed to separate systems in each room. It's a very clean installation that hides the equipment away, but will cost significantly more than a DIY setup. For something of this scale you will benefit from the advice of a professional.

 

[wldock]

I'm biased but I'm not a fan of in ceiling speakers for music or LCR for HT. Possibly in wall speakers in some rooms.

Nevertheless, I think a Sonos alternative like the Bluesound products is the way you want to go. Can put their wireless speakers in some rooms, the Powernode or Vault products in other rooms to power either in-wall, bookshelf, or tower speakers. Then at a later date get a NAD receiver with integrated BluOS. There products support many of the Hi Res formats and are Roon ready.

 

[Bucknekked]

My daughter decided to do her entire house and outdoor patio area with a single system and has everything divided up in zones. She went with Sonos. Unlike a traditional power amp to speaker setup, the Sonos folks get very creative with zones. I can't say I am a Sonos fan from a pure sound point of view but from a flexibility point of view and covering an entire house the Sonos folks have a pretty great solution. Mozey on over and check out Sonos if you've a mind to see a different way to solve the same old problems.